Life After Ramadan

Apologies dear readers for my lack of posting (you've likely heard this apology at least once before and will probably hear it many more times in the future) but I've been busy sitting around doing nothing. Well, just kidding...kind of.

The month of Ramadan has just passed and this year I chose to fast with my family. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. They use this time of year to purify themselves by refraining from gossiping, thinking unclean thoughts (heehee), etc and devoting more time to thinking about Allah. Very nice. As you all know, I'm not Muslim but I decided to fast this year to show respect and solidarity. Also, people think you're way more badass if you're a fasting white girl. What they did not know was that most days I snuck water and food in my room. Yes, that's right. I'm admitting this online because it was hot and frankly I think it's dumb to give myself headaches and low blood sugar just so that people think I'm tough. But still it was a gigantic pain in the neck and it's not like I had full meals or anything.

My daily schedule went something like this: wake up at 5:30 eat last night's leftovers, go back to sleep for as long as possible, get up late (less hours awake means less hours hungry, duh), wander about the compound, play with children, sneak some water, go to the hospital/market to greet people and buy food for dinner, go home, nap, play with children, chat with my sisters while helping make dinner. around this time it's about 5:30 or 6 and everyone (especially me) is starting to get really crabby and hungry. at 6:30 everyone, seriously, everyone starts to ask me what time it is. This is because they want it to be 7:30 already and I'm one that has a watch or cellphone or clock. This is the only time anyone ever cares what time it is.

Also, no matter what time of year, I've noticed that they demand the EXACT time. If I say it's 5:30 they say REALLY? 5:30 exactly? and then they crane their necks to look at my watch. Then if its actually 5:28 they correct me and look at me like I'm either dumb or a liar. I mean, this is coming from people who seriously don't ever care about getting any place at anyone exact time. If I arrange to meet someone to do work or attend an event it always occurs and hour and a half late. EVERY. TIME. So the exact minute thing escapes me.

So anyway, at 7:30 or when the mosque says we break the fast. This is the best part of Ramadan. The whole family gets together on the patio or mat and has bread with butter, a delicious tea called kinkeliba and dates. The whole thing only last 15 minutes but it's nice to just sit and chat and the first drink and bite of food after a day of not eating is so satisfying. The bread is SO fresh during Ramadan since all the families buy loaves and loaves of it everyday. Then everyone disappears for a while until 8:15 until dinner. Let me tell you, dinner during Ramadan is the best. We had chicken 2 or 3 times during this month and meat twice! The bowl has tons of vegetables with all of my favorite garnishes. They really go all out.

So now you know all about Ramadan. It's over now but that doesn't mean I'm not still hungry. Send food! I love you all!

i need your help/some photos

All that food right before bed during Ramadan has prompted my dormant insomnia to come raging back full force. Fortunately, as a result of all that extra time laying around in bed I've come up with a pretty cool (i think) project. What's cool about it is that it involves you guys, my dear readers- my most beloved friends and family-and everyone else in America that reads this. I know you guys are all so proud of me and so impressed and blah blah blah so here is a cheap and fun way to help me out plus you get something in return:

You send me a postcard from wherever you live in the good ole US of A and (on the same day i recieve it!) I will send you one from Senegal.

The whole point of this is to promote the second and third goals of the Peace Corps which involve cultural exchange. I plan on getting all the postcards together and showing them to the school kids in my neighboorhood while matching up the locations on a map. Cool right? You get a postcard from Africa and my young friends here get to see America. As my work here progesses I can use the postcards as a learning tool in classrooms once school starts again, in girl's and boy's clubs, in the english club at the high school, etc. I'm really excited about this and I hope you are able to help me out! Postcards cost $0.98 to send and they usually cost about a dollar at most. The kids here don't usually get to see images of America except through TV maybe. Schoolbooks here are scarce and so are magazines and other reading material. Part of the reason I'm here is to teach people about America and how great it is there so I'm hoping you'll give me the oppurtunity to do exactly that! Thanks!

My address:
Jessica Goza
BP 325
Kaolack, Senegal
West Africa

And here are some photos b/c a blog without photos sucks:




They got me to wear orange. This was at a TB event. All the volunteer health workers (relais) wore matching fabric. I look silly.


well i guess one photo since i haven't figured out picasa yet.

gratitude

before i write another post about what's going on over here i'd like to take some time/space to very publicly thank all the lovely people in america that have sent me things through the mail. i appreciate each and everything thing so incredibly much in ways that i don't think my dear readers can comprehend. i love coming into town and picking up a little piece of america, a reminder that people still care about me and that i haven't been forgotten. that sounds melodramatic, i know, but it's true. so THANK YOU SO MUCH. getting mail, email, phone calls brings me more joy and comfort than anything else.

MOM and DAD- thank you so much for the THREE packages i've received so far. i know they cost a fortune but i was so happy to opem them up! the banana costume has been a huge hit and of course, there are always so many things i NEED packed in there. you two know what i like and you send it over and i don't even have to ask. you're the best.

SISSY- TWO PACKAGES from my broke ass new college grad sister. full of food! materials to make spam masubi!, things to put on my wall, and sweet notes. i love you so much! and i got your postcard too!

ARMAND- you know how much i loved that enormous 20 pound monstrosity! i've been wearing the watch everyday, carry the water bottle with me everywhere and i'm slowly working through the drink packets and granola bars. the gumballs were a huge hit with the kids and the candy was a huge hit with me.

KAMMIE- you send the classiest package of all. i've never seen so much expensive candy all in one box. i'm breaking out the ferraro rochers for a special occasion. everything else i've ravaged in middle of the night hunger attacks. and like i've told you, i read that damn US weekly you sent about 6 times and had it memorized before another volunteer asked me for it!

RAINA- you really outdid yourself this last time. not only was that box filled to the bring with delicious snacks that i didn't even know that i wanted, you threw in a great selection of magazines, a santa cruz weekly, and best of ALL LETTERS AND NOTES FROM YOU AND FAMILY MEMBERS!!!! i will be rereading them over and over again during the rest of my service. very encouraging!

MICHAEL FARLEY- i LOVE the raiders banner. seriously. i'm going to miss the games this season and all the highs and lows of being a raider's fan. i also love things i can put on my wall to decorate my room. this is great!

BRIAN R. and ELAINE S.- got your post cards and they are beautiful. i'm putting them up in a special place for postcards and things from around the world. thank you for thinking of me and while you're on your own adventures!


So here is a small picture of me with one of my favorite children. she is a perfect angel and i'd bring her with me everywhere i went if i could. see how nicely she fits on my back?

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

i really love you guys and wish i could send you gifts of equal value in return but this what you're getting for now. i swear there has to be a special place in heaven for those who send things to peace corps volunteers. i know it's expensive and it's a pain in the ass to put everything together and get the the post office but it is appreciated and it makes me feel loved. thanks, again.

Pictures

i've been at IST for the past two weeks so i've been in thies gaining back all the weight i lost in village. food is delicious and abundant here. i've been eating: salads, pasta, ramen, lots of chicken, paninis, and other various items. We were all so happy to see each other again yet unaccustomed to spending so much time with other american people so we all started to go a little bit crazy. this coming week i will be working at an embassy sponsored english camp. i'm looking forward to teaching english and working with motivated young people.

here are some pictures from july fourth in beautiful kedegou:

this is a really cute animal we made friends with at the campement we stayed at

look at how beautiful kedegou is:

this is the room we stayed in! cute hut + air conditioning

mika in all of his america gear

they put these goats in bags and then tied them to the roof of our car

i owe you guys a post

this was the goat that mysteriously appeared in my backyard. that's when i found out there was a wedding the next day.

i don't know why the rest of this is a link and i lost interest in finding out about five minutes ago.

a lot has happened since the last time i posted. i wish i had written a blog on each event.
here is a list:

1. vaccinated two hundred children door to door.

2. scrubbed the hospital sitting area alone while a group of three men looked on and commented. i asked one of them what he did for work and he said he played football and trained twice a day. that was his "job".

3. made a pepinere alone. while children harassed me. went door to door asking for people's manure.

4. traveled to tamba and kedegou where i spent the fourth of july in an air conditioned hotel room on a river. i had roasted pig! pork for the first time since march.

5. suffered a tonsil infection from the stupid fishbone incident hampering my partying ability. my tonsils were covered in white gunk and touching each other.

6. the wedding that happened seems so long ago. i didn't get any good pictures. weddings here are not like in america. there is not formal ceremony that is visible to the public. that all happens a the mosque. here there is just dancing and eating. i wish i had gotten a picture of the bride with her amazing make up and outfit.

7. funeral today. yesterday my grandma here died. she didn't live with us so i didn't know her too well. but its been somber around the house since its my mom's mom. yesterday we went to the house to sit. today i went again to sit. all the women sit at the house all day. the men gathered outside, took the body (at that point women started crying and making noises), went to the cemetery to bury her. only men are allowed at cemeteries here, i don't know why. then the imam talked for one seemed like a hours but only b/c i was crammed on a mat with 40 other women and my legs fell asleep. then people came by and threw money on a mat and i left. later i realized they had borrowed my shovels to dig the grave when they were returned covered in mud. spent the rest of day the in my hammock since my family was out of the house. very nice indeed.

8. giardia naming contest winner: wingiardiam leviplopsa. i think this is all kinds of awesome. i love harry potter, duh. will "anonymous" please come forward to claim your prize.





this is my compound. my room is to the right through that door.

FISHBONES ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

WARNING: FISHBONES CAN BE DANGEROUS

fishbones stuck in your throat is a common fear of PC volunteers here in senegal b/c that's really all we eat. we are treated like babies and so we rely on family members to pick the bones out for us. i've become a very trusting fish eater. besides, my biggest fears were pooping my pants and having something stolen from me. i never gave much thought to the danger of fishbones.

well today, that has changed. they are evil little throat daggers than can cause hours or maybe even days of pain. this afternoon, i awoke from my afternoon repose feeling more than peckish. fortunately, the fataya lady had just rounded the corner and i had CFA to spend. i bought four fatayas. two to share and two for myself. fatayas are delicious fried snacks, dough with seasoned ground meat or fish stuffed in the middle. sometimes they are crisp like fried wontons and sometimes they are doughy like indian fry bread.

i was eating one with out looking as i was rushing to get ready to go to the market and, in my haste, i swallowed a fish bone. well it remains lodged there till this moment. i told my family at about 10 PM and they immediately told me to go to my father.

i went to him and he massaged my throat while whispering a prayer or incantation and made spitting noises and breathed on my throat. then i drank water. then i tried to examine with a toothbrush. then i threw up all over my floor. then i threw up outside. then my dad massaged my throat again. then i really couldn't stop throwing up. then i tried gargling. then i brushed my teeth. then i threw up some more (macaroni for dinner). finally i stopped throwing up and i asked my mom how to clean it up and she cleaned it up for me. then i decided i had had enough torture and went in my room to blog about it. i smell like bulimia.

now a storm is coming in. it sounds like someone is rolling around on my roof. today i went in my backyard and there was a goat tied up next to the wall. i went back to the front and said "hey did you know there is a goat in the backyard?" my sister said, "yes, there is going to be a wedding on friday. your brother is getting married. you are going the market today to get fabric for a new outfit. tomorrow you're going to the thiam's house to get henna."

no body tells me anything around here!!!! a wedding at my house and i'm the last to know. of course! today there was an important meeting and no one called, texted, or came to visit my house to tell me about it. the only reason i knew was b/c the daughter of one of the people that is supposed to help me came to fetch me in the market and took me to the meeting where her mom (the person who was supposed to give me the details) asked me if i forgot about the meeting! i don't think i can blame this one on language issues, either.

so much stuff happens in one day. i will let you guys know if i ever go that fishbone out. doesn't that fataya up there look delicious?

it's something to celebrate

i have internet in my village! it finally works. this is very exciting news. i like to use gchat and skype.
my google address is: jessica.goza@gmail.com
skype: saynotobananas
email address: jessica_goza@yahoo.com

let me know what's going on in your lives and i'll try to do the same.